


chasing pavements

by pkmntrashcan



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Angst, F/M, Forgive Me, Forgiveness, Heartbreak, I needed a break from all the happy stuff I was writing, Slow Burn, gladion x moon, like guys i even made a playlist for this fic, lonashipping, will it be a happy ending?!?!? STAY TUNED CAUSE I HAVEN'T DECIDED YET
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-11 00:46:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13513233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pkmntrashcan/pseuds/pkmntrashcan
Summary: It's the event of the year! The region’s favorite power couple is finally going to the tie the knot, but after a turn of events everyone is left heartbroken, bitter, and angry.But what happens when the ex-fiance comes back after 5 years?





	1. I take you for to be my lawfully wedded spouse,

Moon’s heart clamours in her chest as her mother’s grip was the only force holding her down; if she had a choice she would’ve run out of the room to scream or to hurl, to do anything to let out the feelings bubbling inside her. Excitement? Nerves? All of the above? Regardless, it was the worst and the best culmination of feelings Moon had ever felt.

A small tap on her shoulder gently snaps her attention back to the task at hand, her mother pushing the final pin into her hair with a satisfied smile. Moon looks up to see her beaming mother in the corner and her own reflection in the mirror.

The definition of a glowing bride.

Her makeup wasn’t over the top; soft pinks to match her natural flush. Her hair arranged with small white flowers framing the intricate braids and soft curls. Her dress elegantly hung off her shoulders, and from the right angle the sun peaking through the curtains seemed to make Moon glow.

She honestly couldn’t decide if she looked more like herself, or less.

“Ready for your big day, sweetie?” Moon’s mother asks from behind her, pulling her out of her trance as she see the tears already brimming in her mom’s eyes. Moon lets out a small breathy chuckle lifting herself out of the chair, careful to not step on her dress, to reach out and place her hands gently on her mom’s cheeks. “Mom, I’m the Champion of Alola, this hardly is a ‘ _big day_ ’ in comparison.”

But her mom just laughs her boisterous laugh in response, the liquid pooling in her eyes leaking prematurely. Leave it to Moon to trivialize her wedding, but it wasn’t every day that your youngest got married.

“You became Champion when you were 10, honey. It’s been 12 years,” she wipes a tear away, smiling brightly at Moon. “You kids are growing up too fast.”

Moon shakes her head, a lopsided grin making its place on her rosy lips.

“Sun will still be around.”

The snarky response prompts a quick tsk from her mom as she removes Moon’s hands. “That’s only because your older brother decided that money was more valuable than love!” And it’s the gentle jab that allows both of them to share a laugh. The familial feeling leaving a bittersweet taste in Moon’s mouth. She really was growing up. Faster than her older brother in some sense, faster than her mother wanted in another.

Maybe even faster than she wanted to, but with every passing second she just remembered why they were there in the first place.

Why she was growing up.

After years of dating, today was the day she would get married to the love of her life. The warm feeling returns in the pit of her stomach as a knock at the door pulls both Moon and her mother’s attention. Sun steps in, clad suit and tie, his eyes downcast for a quick second before he glances up at his mom and sister.

“What’s wrong?”

Leave it to their mother to be too observant, her inquiry sparking panic in his sister’s eyes as he fights the urge to visibly stifen.

“I can’t walk in without something being wrong?” he defends, their mother wordlessly narrowing her eyes as he scratches the back of his head. A quirk he only did when nervous. “I just want to give my baby sister a hug before I pass her off to Gladion.”

It was an odd request to say the least. Her children were close, yes, but never overly emotional with each other, instead they would defend each other til the ends of the Earth, but only if it wasn’t the other causing the chaos in the first place.

Moon lets out an airy giggle when she sees Sun smile awkwardly towards her, his arms open for invitation. So she walks forward, deciding that she could indulge him this once time, by letting his arms envelope her into a firm and protective hold.

It felt incredibly _safe_ , but with her vision gone she was oblivious to his smile dropping, the worried glance, the exchanged looks between son and mother.

* * *

 

To say the chapel was buzzing would be an understatement.

Gladion and Moon were essentially Alola’s favorite couple, and when the faces of the region decided to get engaged it was to no one’s surprise when Moon invited everyone to their celebration. Evidently it was the event of the century, a union between families that now extended into the region the both held close to their heart. To the guests everything was perfect, but to the Maid of Honor and Best Man things were anything but.

Lillie was outside, her heels clicking on the marble floors as she continuously paced up and down the foyer. Her hands were held close to her body as they fidgeted almost uncontrollably, her head kept turning as if she was searching...waiting.

The families were inside. All the bridesmaids and groomsmen were waiting in the other hall. Sun was with Moon. Moon was with her mom. And everything seemingly was in order, except for the fact that **_one_ ** very important detail wasn’t there.

A soft thump of the door down the hall makes Lillie whip her head. It was Hau, accompanied only by the frown on his face. She quickly runs up to him, her eyes watering as she desperately asks “any luck?”

But all Hau can do is his head sadly, “I can’t find him anywhere.”

The news strikes hard and the tears quickly begin falling down Lillie’s face; Hau wiping them away instantly. “It’s okay Lillie. We still have time, he might show up,” Hau pleads quietly, but Lillie wouldn’t calm down. He pulls her in closer, feeling her tears on his shirt and her frame shake with her silent sobs.

Luckily for them, no one was walking in at that moment.

Moon is the first one to pull away from her brother, not missing the solemn look on his face.

“Sun, I’m not dying you know?”

He blinks once, twice, not registering Moon’s words and not realizing how easily he could be read from his expressions. She quickly rolls her eyes at his silence before she turns to her mom with a bright smile on her face. “Go get seated mom; Sun will follow,” it was more of a command than a request, even though the smile on her face tried to prove otherwise. Her mother nods slowly, clearly hesitating as she looks away from Sun, an uneasy feeling now lingering; whatever Sun knew was not good.

She only hoped she raised him with enough sense to not say something at the wrong time.

“Go, go!” Moon urges once more as her mom gives in, her last glance getting caught on Moon’s beaming grin.

When the door closes shut however, the light on her face is out, the veil on her head almost able to cause a breeze as her gaze snaps onto his.

“Okay, spill.”

It was a fact well known that his sister, _Alola’s darling_ , was the sweetest person you could ever meet. Her heart was pure gold, her passions were her ignition, and head was always in the right place. But whilst she was the sweetest person, that didn’t mean that Moon’s passion stopped at kindness. For Moon was absolutely terrifying when she was angry, her patience having to be drawn so incredibly thin for someone to witness her glare, let alone the wrath. He probably asked for the arguments when they were children, but now that they were adults he wanted to do anything but upset her, and on her wedding day no less.

It all had to be handled carefully.

He watches Moon’s mouth pout, her foot incessantly tapping on the floor, her face simply saying _‘I’m waiting’._ She wasn’t angry, **_yet_ ** , but Sun was terrified to cross that path.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

A speculative look, a haught scoff. “You asking for a hug was weird...” Moon says pointedly before her voice drops all at once.

“Mom left upset, too…” The worry finds its way to her face, “what’s going on, Sun?”

If their mother was observant, Moon was beyond perceptive, and leave it to him to not want to let his baby sister walk out of this room thinking a wedding was still going to happen.

“If something happened to your fiance you would want to know, right?”

Moon’s eyes widen, as her hands come up to her mouth, an audible gasp as she steps closer to her brother. “Is Gladion okay? Is he hurt? Sun what do you know?!” her voice rises desperately with each  question and his heart breaks with her undying concern for the guy.

“He hasn’t shown up.”

And suddenly the world just seemed to stop.

“No one can find him.”

This had to be a joke, right?

“I’m sorry, Moon.”

Numb.

That’s all she could feel in the moment as she pushed passed her brother. His voice was buzzing in her head as he called out to her, but she soon found herself walking down the main corridor. Lillie had calmed down, had separated herself from Hau’s arms, when a blur of white passes by them in a hurry. In a panic Hau calls out Moon’s name, but by then he could hear the doors to the chapel opening.

Heads turned, hundreds of eyes stared back at her.

There stood a glowing bride, with no groom at the altar to show for it.


	2. to have and to hold,

If you asked Moon what happened that day, she honestly could not recall.

According to her family she collapsed at the entrance of the chapel looking like a princess, her white dress splayed around her perfectly. Her eyes were wide, her face grew red, a few laughs left the guests’ thinking she stumbled in typical Moon fashion until they noticed the tears streaming down her face. Confused expressions, murmured whispers, and soon two and two were put together together: if Moon was here, then where was Gladion?

Chaos was the only way to describe the situation. The bridesmaids and groomsmen hovered over the entrance, blocking people’s view of Moon as they urged her to get up.

But the request fell on deaf ears as the bride-to-be didn’t budge, didn’t react, didn’t do anything but let her heart shatter into a million pieces in front of everyone.

The bridesmaids looked over at Sun, all their eyes screaming ‘ _ do something! _ ’. Sun bit the bullet. He walked to the front of the church, called off the ceremony, and with everything already paid, he said the guests could feel free to attend the reception later in the evening.

He didn’t know if anyone actually went; he honestly didn’t care.

Luckily as he made the announcement Hau and Lillie were able to slip Moon away. The Champion short of breath, her quiet tears turning into sputtered sobs as they left the chapel and walked through the foyer towards one of the cars.

It was heart-wrenching to see their best friend so utterly destroyed, but it was like digging a knife when all Moon could do was ask for Gladion, ask if he was okay, if he was safe, but it wasn’t until her final question became “what did I do wrong?” that she finally fell asleep, her dress crinkled in all the wrong places.

Hau and Lillie exchanged looks; silently agreeing to stay with her until her mom or Sun arrived, but even then they knew they weren’t going to be leaving her side for a while.

Sun spent a lot of time that day convincing the Alola press to not run a story. To respect his sister’s privacy, to let their Champion be upset in peace. This was the girl they knew and loved, not one they wanted to expose.

Alola agreed; every other region in attendance didn’t.

Unable to refuse the big scoop of a Champion being left at the altar they flooded to the hotel in an attempt to see Moon. To see her family. To see Gladion’s for that matter. And somehow, even though everyone denied their persistent requests for an interview, pictures got leaked and information got shared through social media.

Sun had to hand it to the news outlets for their consistency though, ‘cause whether it was about her dress or the catastrophic event itself every single article ended with:

_ Where did Gladion go? _

It was a question on everyone’s mind, but it wasn’t until four days later when Hau discovered the answer.

He was with Moon’s mom on a trip to her house on Akala, a barely lived in space since Moon spent so much time at Mount Lanakila or Aether. This was, however, Moon’s home. It was up to them to make it a welcoming space when she arrived and in the event Moon would actually eat they planned on making some of her favorites. It was in that moment that something caught Hau’s attention.

Something white, incredibly out of place, laying on the dining room table.

“Auntie,” Hau calls out as he fingers reach forward, it was an envelope with Moon’s name splashed across the front, “who has access to Moon’s house?”

Her mom hums for a bit before finally responding, “with a key? Pretty sure it was just…” her voice halts, unable to speak the name that has crushed her daughter. That was enough for Hau to know who this was from. He tears it open, not caring about the legality of opening someone else’s mail. 

Moon would forgive him for that.

But what he wouldn’t forgive was the contents of the letter. A key and a four word sentence that left more questions than anything:

“I’m not strong enough.”

* * *

 

It was two evenings later when Hau told Lillie and Sun, his hand holding on the contents of the envelope. It had been folded for safe keeping, crumpled for retribution. Lillie was the first to reach for it as her eyes scan it at a rapid pace. She turns it over and over again, looking for something that wasn’t there.

“Where’s the next part?”

Hau sadly shakes his head.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” she says in complete disbelief as she hands it over to Sun.

It took less than a second for his fist to meet with the nearby wall, “that motherf--”

“Are you going to tell Moon?” Lillie asks, interrupting Sun’s tirade. Hau looks at her with saddened eyes, but as he opened his mouth to ask what she meant Sun speaks up again.

“What the hell are you suggesting, Lillie?” he pulls his hand away, the plaster on the wall breaking off. “My sister does not need another layer of heartbreak!”

“Keeping secrets from her won’t make anything better, Sun!” Lillie retorts, significantly raising her voice.

“I’m not sure right now is the best time…” Hau begins when the three of them hear a cough from behind them.

It was Moon, looking at them with a muted expression. Her mouth in a straight line, her eyes cloudy, the dark circles evident, and her silence said it all.

She heard them.

Moon walks forward, still not uttering a word as she extends her hand out. They knew what she wanted.

“Moon are you sure…” Sun begins, but his sister doesn’t budge. He looks at Hau and Lillie as if silently asking if there was another way.  They all knew there wasn’t. He apprehensively places it in her hand.

She looks down at it, her eyes reading the contents in a fraction of a second, before folding it up neatly and heading back inside.

Not a single tear or a sob escapes her, and they weren’t so sure that was a better reaction.

* * *

 

The next day Moon was out of bed early.

She was wearing a simple outfit sans ring on her finger, her hair was neatly pulled back for once, and her pokeballs lied sturdily on her hip. Sun and their mom stared at her in disbelief from the living room as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

“You don’t have to go back to the League right now you know...” their mom says worriedly as she heads towards the door, but Moon doesn’t stop until her hand was on the doorknob. She hesitates for a quick second, before her head turns slightly.

It was just enough for Sun to see that for the first time that week her eyes weren’t clouded by sadness.

Instead he found pure unadulterated rage.

“If he can up and leave because he’s not strong enough, then I’m going to make sure he can never come back,” her voice waivers as she swings the door open. He doesn’t think Moon meant to slam it behind her when he hears her back hit the frame with a quiet ‘thud’.

* * *

 

It only took a week for Moon’s story to be replaced with one about the latest fashions in Kalos. And soon it was almost as if the whole region had forgotten about the event. 

Moon had faded from the spotlight, dedicating her time to the League, to her family, to her friends. Alola’s Darling was smiling once again and that’s all anyone could ask for. 

Hau became Kahuna, finally getting Tapu Koko’s approval one fateful evening after years and years of training. Hala passed along his title with the utmost pride.

Sun expanded his business, raking in the revenue much to everyone’s surprise. He had a way with words, and with selling products.

And Lillie became Aether’s interim President.

For five years running. 

It was a sore subject.

Because Gladion didn’t just leave Moon five years ago, he left Aether.

And by him leaving Aether, Lillie got the task of President pushed onto her, something Gladion had been working towards. Something she never even wanted.

But Lillie was Lillie, undyingly hopeful. She hoped for years everything was a fluke; a rash decision on the behalf of an idiotic 25 year old, but when no one heard anything from him for years Lillie couldn’t help but to be worried.

It was one fateful afternoon, however, in the Aether halls that made Lillie lose her composure. Two Aether interns huddled over their Pokedexes. Lillie walked by them as a sentence comprised of ‘Gladion’ and ‘back’ made it to her ears.

Lillie uncharacteristically snatches the Pokedex out of their hands to confirm their musings.  

Moon sits sideways on her Championship chair. Her head resting on one armrest as her legs drape across the other, a habit many once told her to quit. “ _ You have an image, Moon! _ ” she remembers fondly hearing, only to sass back the speaker saying that people needed to accept her as who she was. She places her fingers on the Pokeballs simultaneously releasing her team.

Decidueye, her starter, prepares himself for battle, only to peer around and see no trainer in sight. A small questioning coo leaves Decidueye as he tilts his head in confusion, and soon her other Pokemon follow suit, but Moon turns her own head to meet her Pokemon’s gaze.

“No, no battle today,” Moon says with a light laugh as her head tilts back up to stare at the glass ceiling, “I just wanted to thank you all for 17 years here and how I...”

“ **_Incoming Challenger_ ** ,” the PA system interrupts as Moon loses the heartfelt sentiment and smiles proudly instead. “Actually…” Moon begins as she swings her legs around to the ground, “winning a battle might be a better thanks, don’t you think?” Her encouraging smile fills her Pokemon with glee as they prepare themselves for the trainer.

They all stare at the entrance when they see long blonde hair bolting their way up.

It was Lillie; heaving and panting, but Lillie nonetheless as her hands fall to her knees. It seemed she needed a moment, but Moon squeals in delight casting aside that thought. “LILLIE, YOU BATTLED YOUR WAY UP HERE?!” The black haired girl announces as she runs towards her best friend, her hug catching Lillie off guard.

But this was no time to celebrate.

“Moon. Moon. Let go!” Lillie pries the shorter girl’s arms off, the furrow in her brow doing nothing to drop Moon’s smile. Lillie was always a worrier anyways.

“I need you to leave Ula’ula right now,” Lillie says frantically as she peers behind her. Moon only gives her a bigger smile.

“Lillie, I love you and all, but I can’t just hand over my Championship! Besides we should celebrate that you’re here! You’ve never been up here!”

Moon’s vibrant happiness does nothing to calm Lillie down as she worriedly continues to look at Moon.  Soon a small beep is heard on the PA again, except this time it was coming from downstairs.

“Um…Moon?”

“Champion, we couldn’t stop--”

“Can you---”

“MOON, GET THE HELL OFF OF MOUNT LANAKILA.”

The last one was undoubtedly Kahili, and Moon’s smile soon drops. The urgent nature in everyone’s voices made her stomach lurch in uncertainty, but by then it was too late.  “ **Incoming Challenger** ,” the speakers blast again, and the doors at the bottom flew open except this time instead of just one person there were 5 at the bottom of the stairs.

4 seething Elite Four Members, and a blonde Moon never wanted to see again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PAIN THEN FLUFF WON OVERWHEMINGLY SO HERE YOU GO!!!
> 
> Valentine's Day fic will be posted on well...Valentine's Day :)


	3. from this day forward,

In five years a region could grow calmer, inhabitants would grow older, and hearts would be healed of all wounds.

Or so Moon thought.

Because as she stares wide eyed into the green ones she used to adore she felt emotions bubble inside of her. Emotions she didn’t want to feel and through hundreds of imagined scenarios where Moon forgave and forgot she now found herself unable to formulate words. This wasn’t a random encounter full of shock and unease. This wasn’t a planned event full of regrets and clarity.

No, this was an attack on the walls she worked hard to build. Her eyes narrow as her demeanor shifts in a fraction of a second. The normally warm and welcoming Champion was now cold and distant.

But what did Gladion expect? To be welcomed with open arms?

Not a chance.

”I’m sorry Lillie, your battle is going to have to wait,” Moon says she walks away from everyone at the entrance only to stop on her side of the room. “But don’t worry it won’t take five years.”

“Moon you don’t have to--” Lillie begins to protest but the Elite Four next to her all shake their heads. Moon had made up her mind and by then Gladion had already walked up the stairs. Moon’s Decidueye and Silvally were the first to step in front of their trainer, their low growls in protests said everything loud and clear.

Gladion was not to be trusted.

“So what brings you back?” Moon asks haughtily, but before Gladion could even open his mouth Moon lifts a single finger shushing him in the process. “I take it back I don’t want to know. Decidueye you’re up.”

Silvally steps back to join the rest of her Pokemon. They were all on edge as they watched her her starter stand on the battlefield alone. It’s focus undeniable as Gladion sends out his first pokemon.

A Venasaur.

Moon feels the anger boil inside of her as she stares at the Kantonian Pokemon.  Of course, he would find a roundabout way to answer her question, but what pissed her off more was that he had the nerve to run away to her home region. Moon gives Hala a quick nod and he takes apprehensive steps forward. It was rare for a spectator to be in the Champion’s room, let alone the full Elite Four, but they would do anything to support their Champion.

He gives her one last concerned look before lifting his hands. “To my left Champion Moon. To my right Challenger Gladion. Last one standing wins.” He sees Moon smirk.

“Begin.”

“Brave Bird” Moon says almost instantly, giving her opponent no time to react.

“Venusaur, dodge” Gladion sputters out, but it was too late for the heavier Pokemon as Moon’s nimble bird had already made direct contact, causing it to fall almost immediately.

Hala lifts his hands as he grants Moon the win. “Venusaur is unable to battle.”

Decidueye sqwaks angrily in Gladion’s direction before Moon recalls him.

Moon chuckles as she sees Gladion tsk and send out a Crobat. “You should’ve said hi to Red and Blue for me,” Moon says as she stares at the friendship evolved Pokemon. Truly, an unsurprising choice. “But I guess you of all people wouldn’t consider little pleasantries like that necessary” Moon murmurs meanincingly as she gives her Raichu a single look. Her Pokemon now wordlessly lunging forward with charged cheeks as it locks onto its target.

Gladion calls out some command that goes over Moon’s head. Everything was starting to become white noise around her as she felt herself overcome with pent up anger.

“But you know what **is** necessary, Gladion ?” Moon spits out as she sees Raichu stand in the middle of the battlefield; his Crobat zips around trying to evade the upcoming attack. “Wiping out your team like old times” the coldness in her words sends chills down everyone’s spine, but it’s a passing reaction as she commands Raichu to attack with a powerful thunderbolt.

The bright lights surrounds them as everyone closes their eyes to block out the shine. Hala, Gladion, and Moon however stare ahead, waiting patiently to see the outcome.

The purple Pokemon laid fainted on the battlefield.

“Crobat is unable to battle. Send out your next Pokemon.”

Everyone knew their Champion wasn’t vindictive in any way whatsoever, but for once she had more on the line than just a Championship title.

* * *

 

 “The Challenger’s Pokemon are unable to battle. Champion Moon is the winner.”

Hala’s final words reverberate through the glass room; the tension rising as the silence settles in. Moon recalls her Silvally without a noise as she stares across the way trying to read Gladion’s expression.  His eyebrows were furrowed, his lips thinned into a simple line and his fist was opening and closing like he usually did when he was mulling over what to say.

Moon hated that she could still read him.

“I didn’t just come here to battle,” he says quietly, but it was loud enough to rile up a response from Moon.

“Get out,” Moon snaps as her intense gaze meets Gladion’s shocked expression. What once was a joke about their first few meetings was now just a bitter phrase that he recognized very well.

“Moon--” his begins only for his voice to get caught in his throat.

Moon feels the tears begin to prick her eyes she tries to not lose her composure. To not be influenced by hearing her voice on his lips after so long. She drops her gaze and bolts directly towards the exit, leaving everyone else in the room behind her.

“I always thought you were smarter than this Gladion”

Gladion turns around and sees his sister angrily looking at him. Her arms crossed in a huff as the Elite 4 decide it was best for them to leave the siblings alone. Murmurs of ‘Moon’ and ‘checking up on her’ could be heard as they made their way down the path their Champion went.

“FIVE YEARS GLADION. FIVE WHOLE YEARS.”

Gladion winces at his sister’s scolding. “Lillie I can---” She lifts a hand, forcing him to stop his sentence halfway. “If you’re going to give me excuses don’t bother. I need apologies and groveling and everything that has happened to be magically fixed. Can you give me that Gladion?”

His hands tremble at his sides as his sister’s words sink in.

“Gladion answer me!”

“I can’t do that Lillie,” he yells back, the emotions finally riling up out of him.

But the disappointment was written all over his sister’s face.  “Then you better find out how before any of us let you talk to her.”

Gladion lets out a huff of air. He was frustrated at his sister, at the situation, at himself…

“I’m not happy under these circumstances” Lillie murmurs “but it’s nice to see you’re alive and well.”

Gladion says nothing in response, already knowing the how his disappearing act impacted Lillie.

“Mother will be happy to see you.”

A tsk escape his lips.

“Excuse me, mister. You have no right to be mad at mother after all that you did,” Lillie says absolutely appalled, but it triggers yet another response out of the stoic blonde.

“I’m not the one that almost destroyed a region. I didn’t cause the wormholes that involved Mo--” He doesn’t finish his sentence, instead deciding to turn away and walk towards the exit. Lillie says nothing as she hears his footsteps descend the steps. Her fingers drum silently on her arm as she mulls over her own thoughts.

When the panels at the bottom swing open she finally opens her mouth.

“Find a place to stay before Sun gets his hands on you,” She gives him a half hearted smile, as if that’s the most she can muster for her brother’s return.

* * *

 

Moon is nowhere to be found by the time the Elite 4 make it outside. “She probably went home,” Kahili murmurs, but Olivia and Hala share a concerned look. Acerola was the first to press her pokedex against her ear. If anyone needed to know about this, it had to be Sun.

“Sup?” she hears from the other side of the receiver, but she already knew his carefree persona was going to do a complete 180 at the news drop.

“Sun, I need you to listen to me.”

A chuckle could be heard on the receiver. “Arceus for you to sound this serious--”

“Gladion is back.”

Silence.

“Su--” Acerola begins, but the brand new background noises cut her off, and when the line goes dead she hears a Charizard land next to her.

“Where’s Moon?” Sun asks in a panicked state as Acerola tries to not seem surprised at how quickly he arrived.

“We--we don’t know. She left the League.”

“Where’s the asshole?” Sun demands, never shy about his disdain for their former friend.

“You can’t start a fight here, Sun,” Acerola begs, but he only laughs.

“It won’t be a fight if I hit him first…”

“Don’t you---” Acerola pulls away from her dex. He had hung up on her so with a huff she turns back to everyone, this time seeing Lillie walk out by herself.

“Where’s Gladion?” Acerola asks almost immediately at the sight of her.

“I told him to find a place to stay,” Lillie whispers, “five years later and our mother is still a sore subject, and yet here he is responding to one of her calls.”

Sympathetic looks get tossed around. Olivia, however, can’t hold back the scoff that escapes her. “Gladion shows up unannounced and Sun wants to beat the crap out of him. You would think that the 30 year olds would know better.”

“Age has nothing to do with maturity” Hala adds as everyone silently agrees with his statement.

* * *

 

“LEAVE ME ALONE!”

The scream could be heard right before the slamming of a door. Sun stood outside on Moon’s porch banging on the wooden frame. His sister was a grown adult, that he understood. But his concern as an older brother was never going to fade, especially when a certain blonde has made his appearance.

“Moon, I’m not here to baby you. I swear...I’m just concerned”

Moon abruptly pulls the door open just wide enough for him to get a glance. She looked aggravated, but he couldn’t decipher if it was because of him or Gladion. A small internal sense of relief filled him, however, when he confirmed that she wasn’t crying.  “I. AM. FINE.” She says in a staccato before forcing a grin onto her face. “Anymore questions, big brother ?”

Yup, her anger was definitely at him.

“Moon just let me in…”

But once again the door shuts tight, giving Sun enough motive to leave and try again later.

Moon leans her forehead against the door, waiting to hear the sound of a Charizard taking her brother away. Her hand shakily lets go of the doorknob as she takes deep breaths in an attempt to recompose herself. She clenches her eyes tightly to fight back the tears she didn’t want to fall.

“I’m strong enough to deal with this” she murmurs.

She couldn’t talk to Sun. He would go on and on about getting his revenge.

“I don’t need pity”

She couldn’t talk to Lillie. She was probably dealing with the fact that her brother was back.

“I just need time…”

And for once she didn’t think Hau was in on anything, but it wouldn’t be long before he would find out and try console her.

She keeps her head propped against the door as she clicks the Pokeballs on her waist.

“You all believe me if I say I’m fine, right?” she says quietly, but the sad coos and whimpers are the responses she dejectedly accepts.

Of course her Pokemon wouldn’t accept her blatant lies either.

“I can assure you, young trainer. Tapu Koko can’t wait for the day you two will share a battle”

The young boy bounces up and down on his heels. “Thank you Kahuna Hau” he cheerfully exclaims before booking it to the nearby route. A warm chuckle escapes Hau when the sound of approaching footsteps calls his attention.  

“I’m a man walking with a bounty on his head.”

Gladion declares, getting straight to the point as Hau stares at him wide-eyed shock. The Kahuna blinks once, twice and then proceeds to rub his eyes repeatedly as Gladion walks closer.

“I’m really here, Hau” Gladion murmurs, but Hau’s brain still can’t find the proper words to say. Does he greet him? Does he yell at him? Who knows of his arrival?

“Lillie’s already scolded me...I’m hiding from Sun...I couldn’t speak a word to Moon…” Gladion’s eyes lock on the floor.

But Hau was always the second best at reading the older Aether sibling. This was his own cry for help, and Hau couldn’t turn him away.

“Follow me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everyone is in the know now so I can go back to just focusing on Moon or Gladion's POV :)
> 
> sorry this took a little long I'm kinda overwhelmed with life right now since it's financial aid season and my students make me anxious T__T.
> 
> I'll be able to update faster after March 2nd (that is if I wake up from my never ending nap) :D


	4. for better, for worse,

Hau.

Happy and warm, known to talk your ear off if given the chance, was sitting quietly in his living room. The ticking of the clock kept the men company until Hau’s impatience finally got to him.

“Have you been doing well?”

It takes Gladion a quick second to react, a small “huh” escaping him, but Hau just shakes his head with a melrose chuckle as he leans back.

“Five years, dude,” Hau states, his hands casually moving behind his head. “What have you been up to?”

“Nothing really…”

Hau scoffs, “ ‘nothing really’ wouldn’t keep you away from Alola for this long. Where’d you run off to? Kalos? Sinnoh?”

“Kanto” Gladion says curtly, but Hau doesn’t take offense insteading responding with a long hum as his brain processes how to interact with the guy he once called his best friend.

“Well, I’m Kahuna now” Hau adds with a smile. “Lillie’s still a researcher, although pressure has been rough. Sun’s finally making money and….” his voice drifts off as the sensitive topic is brought up.

Gladion’s swallows the lump that was now forming in his throat. His mouth opens and closes, once again unable to make words come out.

“She’s good.”

Gladion’s eyes finally lock with Hau’s, but the Kahuna just shrugs, acknowledging that the blonde wasn’t going to ask what’s been bugging him.

“Moon.” Hau states again “She’s good. Still sweet, still really strong, always stubborn,” Hau’s laughs at this point were just a way to fill in the silence Gladion responds with. “I’m not going to lie and say she’s the same though. She’s more...apprehensive. Protective.”

Gladion winces at his words.

“I want to say she’s fine right now...but that might not be the case since you two crossed paths, right?”

Guilt was swallowing Gladion whole as he refocused his gaze onto the table between them. “I challenged her at the League…”

If Hau had been drinking water it surely would’ve sputtered all across the floor. “You’re joking right?”

When Gladion doesn’t deny the claim Hau loses it. “Dude, y ou don’t just waltz up to your ex-fiance’s job expecting a grand welcome!” Hau’s hands leave the back of his head and instead rub his face up and down in frustration. “And you were the smart one of this group!”

Gladion places his cup down. “I thought it would be easier to see her there…”

“Oh dear Arceus, no Gladion! What is going on in that blonde head of yours?”

“Guilt? Remorse? Shame? What do you want me to say Hau? I fucked up and I’m walking back to Alola like a Rockruff with its tail between its legs” Gladion showed his exasperation as his voice raised ever so slightly, but Hau felt himself grow upset.

The next sentence came without warning.

_ “ This wouldn't have happened if you didn't leave. ” _

It was whispered under his breath, but Hau felt no remorse by adding fuel to the fire. He wanted Gladion to hear the disapproval in his voice. 

He hurt Moon. He hurt Lillie. He hurt him, various families, friends, and everything they thought was perfect in their small region of Alola. His eyes bore into Gladion, but all Gladion did was shake his head, accepting the harsh words. So Hau asks the dreaded question everyone had been wondering about for years.

 

_ "Why did you leave?" _

The blonde opens his mouth to speak, but soon closes it as his own mind runs a several miles per hour. Gladion leans into the couch as he tilts his head back, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose to ease the stress building up inside of him.

It was now or never.

“Do you remember the day before the wedding?”

It was a memory far too clear in the minds of Moon’s friends and family. A day before the wedding, per request of Looker and Anabel, she went into a wormhole. It was nothing out of the ordinary; just another mission for a Faller. A word that Gladion despised because he knew it was a farce. Merely a term used to cover up what a person like Moon really was: Ultrabeast bait. 

But what usually took less than an hour, given years of experience, was approaching 5. Then 7. Then 12.

Lillie and Hau waited at the Altar while Gladion nearly lost his mind  at the thought of Moon getting hurt, or worse, getting stuck in Ultraspace, but as he started demanding answers out of Looker and Anabel a sound could be heard from behind them.

Moon was collapsed on the floor in front of the entrance to Ultraspace. Her Solgaleo was nudging her slightly to no avail. Gladion ran up to her almost instantly in an attempt to see if she would respond at all. He held her in his arms for what felt like hours, but when she eventually came to she gave him her typical proud smile.

She was slightly disoriented, she mentioned capturing a beast, but then she said she got caught in a series of wormholes unable to escape.

The event was too much for Gladion to handle.

“I couldn’t ask her to stop going on these missions…” Gladion’s hands clenched as his eyes bore into the floor. “I ran away like an idiot, thinking I could be stronger so I can help her, protect her, but all I did was hurt her,” Hau could hear the shakiness in the blonde’s voice as years of being away caught up to him. 

“By the time I realized this I couldn’t come back. All I could do was run farther away.”

Hau feels his own heart breaking at the revelation. Five years of thinking Gladion’s departure was selfish. Thinking he fell out of love with Moon. Thinking he gave into cold feet.

All miscommunicated and misunderstood.

“Stupid," Hau exclaims,  "You could've talked to us! You could've talked to Moon! All of this could've been handled differently!!" 

Once again Gladion hangs his head, but that was enough for Hau to calm down. 

"but you came back and that’s all that matters” Hau reaches a hand behind his head and scratches nervously. “I'm not happy with you, but I’ll find a way to get you two to talk...”

Gladion was speechless at Hau’s declaration, but the Kahuna only gives him a wide grin. 

“although i can't save you if you take swing to the face in the process.”

Gladion finds a weird sense of comfort in Hau’s words. He knew that his return wasn’t going to be easy or accepted, but to hell with all the consequences. He had things to set right, even if nothing returned to normal.

* * *

 

Moon hands Lillie a cup of tea without a word, but Lillie whispers a quiet ‘thank you’ as she takes the warm drink in her hands. Her words soon fade into the heavy silence that filled the space between them.

Questions were floating around them. Unasked and unanswered.

“How are you feeling?” Lillie chooses her words carefully as she watches Moon. 

She clicks her tongue before collapsing ungracefully onto the couch. “I’m great” Moon says almost genuinely, but Lillie had observed all she needed to in a fraction of a second. Moon’s eyes were puffy, her cheeks were slightly tear stained, her usually warm aura was more subdued and muted. Lillie wasn’t going to push Moon farther than she needed to.

She tears her gaze away from the Champion and glances around the house. Most of Moon’s Pokemon were napping, but Silvally was standing tall at the entrance, as if ready to defend the house from intruders.

“Is Silvally okay?” Lillie asks innocently, but Moon decides to sit up and beckon the chimera over. Silvally trots over and barks proudly before Moon reaches out and holds its head softly. “My precious baby here is keeping Sun out” Moon coos but Lillie’s eyes widen at the announcement.

“Why?”

Moon gives her Pokemon a quick peck before looking at Lillie sadly, showing the true colors of her emotional state.

“You know very well Sun will tell me to stay away…”

Moon’s statement was anything but alarming. It was a known fact that deep down Moon had been waiting for Gladion to come. Waiting for an explanation, to forgive, to move on, to  _ possibly _ start all over again. 

But even the hopeful and optimistic Lillie thought it was  _ too  _ much to ask. An emotional burden that has been weighing down on her best friend for years. “Moon…” she begins as she watches Moon pet Silvally.

“Do you still love him?”

The question was heavy to say the least as Moon stops her hand midair. Silvally lets out a small whine, sensing something was wrong, but the sad smile on her face said it all.

“Life would be easier if I didn’t, huh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY THAT THESE CHAPTERS ARE SO PAINFULLY SHORT
> 
> (i low key am getting sick and i just wanted to get something out)


	5. for richer, for poorer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY SO MY PRESENT TO ALL OF YOU IS PAIN, I'M SO SORRY.

The tea had gotten cold, the couch had been left empty, and Moon found herself alone to be lost in her thoughts.

It wasn’t surprising that an empty bottle of liquor stood empty on her kitchen counter. Moon’s body tingling with a numbing sensation. Her feet dragging across the wood floor as she tries to gracefully move around the furniture that stood in her way. Her brain functions were slow, foggy, still hung up on the question Lillie had asked her right before she left.

Moon still loved Gladion as if he didn’t tear her apart all those years ago.

And it’s this exact realization that suddenly had her being an incoherent sobbing mess on Melemele’s oceanside. How she got there? She honestly couldn’t recollect, the haziness in her mind only focusing on one thing--one person, only. Her frame shook, gasping to breathe between sobs. The sand beneath her absorbing the tears that trickle down her face. Her hands grasping at the grains in an attempt to hold onto something steady--a futile attempt, as futile as it was to forget the heartbreak Gladion had inflicted on her.

The tightening in her chest almost as painful as day he left her.

Moon pulls her knees in, feeling for the first time the wind hitting her wet cheeks; her fingers leave the sand and reach for her Pokedex.

Alcohol did wonders on one’s rationale, and blind plunges were anything but a surprise.

Moon types a text to her brother, Lillie, and Hau. Surely, an incoherent mess of words that they would understand, but she finds her fingers hovering over her Pokedex’s screen uncertain of whether to press send. She quickly closes the message, instead choosing to switch over to the keypad and punches in a number she hadn’t called in years.

“Surely it’s disconnected,” she murmurs, but it rings. The tone heavy against her ear as she waits with a bated breath.  


* * *

 

“I do have one more reason as to why I’m here.”

As soon as the words leave his lips Gladion regrets speaking them. Hau, clearly battling between forgiving his friend or holding onto the past, simply lets out a sigh.

It was tired, exasperated.

“Out with it then.”

“If I didn't Lillie would have to step up as acting President.”

Gladion watches as emotions cross Hau’s face. At first he’s a blank slate, absorbing the fact, until his eyebrows furrow, his mouth twists, a gasp fills the room when he stands up straight, shock and concern filling in every crevice of his face.

“Is this why Lillie’s been so stressed? The looming fact that she would have to take a job that she never wanted?” Hau didn’t say it pointedly at all, instead he just sounded despondent, maybe even desperate to find a new way to help out his own girlfriend.

Gladion was still to blame.

If he hadn’t left. If he hadn’t broken Moon’s heart, he also wouldn’t have broken Lillie’s will. His mind laced with regrets couldn’t even find the words to mutter a simple ‘yes’, everyone knew that Lillie had been picking up the pieces to the destruction he caused.

Gladion hears the couch give into Hau’s weight; the Kahuna’s elbows now resting on his knees.

An apology clearly unable to fix anything.

“So what now?” Hau says in a tone that one could only describe it as bitter. It was definitely strange coming from him.  “You making up to Moon? You taking over Aether? This is a whole lot of chaos you’re stepping into Gladion”

“I know.”

“Aether is one thing, that’s a business. Something you were to take over, but your sister’s forgiveness? Moon’s? This isn’t even banking on the idea that Moon may not want to speak to you,” a scoff,  “not that I blame her.”

“I know!” Gladion repeats, louder this time, his hands hitting the seat underneath him as Hau simply watches on as Gladion’s own head falls into his hands.  Five years ago the Gladion he knew would never seem so defeated.

“You’ve been thinking about this for years haven’t you? How many times have you imagined coming back?”

But before Gladion could even respond to the loaded question he hears his dex clattering along the wooden table, a familiar tune soon following that causes his stomach to flip. That sound was only connected to one person, and one person only. He reaches forward almost instantly, his eyes locking onto the caller ID in a panic.

_Moon was calling._

“Who is it?” Hau’s voice only acting as white noise as Gladion fumbles to answer the call.

“Moon?”

He sounded desperate, and the small gasp that could be heard on the other side only made the silence feel all the more heavier. But then the sounds of crashing waves in the background leaked through as her undeniably soft, yet slurred words came out in a breathy plea.

“C-can you come get me?”

That’s all he needed to hear before abruptly bolting to the door. Hau’s clarifying questions just lingering in the air as Gladion puts on his coat.

“Does Moon still go to Melemele?”

“What?” Hau asks in utter confusion as he watches the antics unfold in his own living.

“When she’s sad!” Gladion shouts, “when she’s sad does she still go to Melemele?” Urgent, frantic, that’s all he sounded like once more wondering how much had actually changed about the young woman in the time he was gone, but then Hau shrugs, unable to confirm as Gladion leaves heading to the one spot he desperately hope she hadn’t changed.

* * *

It was almost as if Gladion had forgotten how humid Alolan nights were. How the heat just stuck to skin, how his coat did nothing of use and only continued to slow him down as he failed to run across the sand, the grains themselves acting like a weight.

Maybe he had forgotten on purpose.

An attempt to forget everything that stuck on.

Gladion knew Moon had been drinking, he could hear it in her voice over the phone, but he wasn’t sure what he would find because Moon had two drunk phases. The first was the life of the party-- the hyper, reckless phase only sparked by _just_ the right enough amount of drinks. But the second one happened when provoked, when Moon would indulge too far. The phase where Moon would be sad and reflective. The prime example of alcohol being a depressant.

His head whips around the shore in search of Moon, of her Pokemon, of something preparing himself for either when finally he catches a glimpse of a huddled frame.

And for the first time he realized how _tiny_ Moon really was. Physically she was small, he knew this, but she never carried herself in a way that showcased her lack of height or frame.  Moon, Alola’s Champion for 17 years now, looked frail, looked broken.

Something she had never looked like in all the years he had known her.

A heavy lump forms in Gladion’s throat as he carefully approaches her, careful to not startle her, to not make her run away—-ironic coming from him. “Moon,” he calls out quietly as the girl slowly turns her head. It was obvious she had been crying, her tear stained cheeks giving her away before she even lifted her sleeve to rub the moisture away. “What are you doing here?” Gladion assumed she asked, her slurred words not hard to decipher, but her volume barely above a whisper, her voice easily drowned out by the crashing waves.

“You called me,” he responds as he kneels down to her level noticing Moon’s eyes dart down to the very device she used; the very one her hands were fidgeting with to distract herself.

“Huh…,” a pause, “I guess I did.”

Gladion never understood up until that moment how different silences could be. The pause between them wasn’t awkward, no , it was strained, and nothing he could do or say could fill in the gap.

The void between them was 5 years too big.

He remained quiet, accepting it as fact, as the only noise joining the waves was the rustling of his coat being taken off and being draped onto Moon’s shoulders.

“I--”

Gladion perks up, looks over at Moon who was biting down on her lower lip, whose eyes started trembling.

“Why--”

But her sentence cuts short when heavy footsteps trudge from behind them.

“I don’t **_fucking_ ** believe it.”

Moon’s focus leaves Gladion to look at their new company, but the blonde recognized the voice, the anger, anywhere.

Her brother and his, at one point future brother-in-law.

Gladion stands up straight as if on command ready to face the seething anger of the one who dedicated himself to protecting his younger sister.

“Su--”

The swing to the face, entirely expected, but still surprising as the name gets caught in the action. Gladion’s face forced to the side as his own instinct to ball up his own fists, to swing, to defend himself, had to be swallowed down. He deserved the throbbing pain he felt on his cheek, but the cold glare he threw at the intruder was anything but understanding.

Moon gasps, her hands over her mouth, her eyes completely blown wide as Sun walks past the stunned blonde, his hand cradled in his other, as his low voice drops its toxicity, murmuring a quick “are you okay?” to Moon who only watches Gladion stand his silent ground.

She seemed torn, confused, her stance wobbling as she most likely was struggling to understand what was going on.

A scoff forces Gladion to look at the older man. “Don’t you think you’ve done enough?” his grip on Moon’s shoulder tightening so much he sees her squirming out from under his hold.

“Your sister, called **me** ,” Gladion defends as Sun’s eyes widen, his hair hitting his face as he turns to look at Moon.

She says nothing, and that was as good as denying Gladion’s claim to him.

“She’s drunk, confused, and honestly I don’t care if she called you on her deathbed, I forbid you from seeing her!” Sun finishes, nudging Moon to start walking forward, ignoring her small plea as he forces her to leave Gladion behind.

And take steps forward they do, until Gladion speaks up once more.  


“Why don’t you let her be the maker of her own decisions?”

It was an open challenge. One he was stupid enough to make, Sun grinning in disbelief as he approaches the taller blonde. His finger aggressively jutting into Gladion’s chest as if it was a knife ready to stab and twist into his heart.

“You don’t get to say then when you’re the reason she’s like this,” he threatens, Gladion saying nothing as his lips form a tightly sealed line.

“Moon let’s go,” Sun calls out, Moon’s stare lingering on Gladion before he sees her pull up his sleeve to wipe the rest of the tears off, her back turning away in a less than graceful manner. Sun glaring back once more before murmuring,  “you should’ve never expected the jilted bride to reach out first, five years ago or now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I've been wanting to update for a while, but have been distracted by all the other fics and oneshots I have posted in the last 10 months :') and then I decided I'll give it as my birthday present LOL.
> 
> Please bear with me, this will be finishing up soon-ish. IT'S SUPPOSED TO HAVE 8 CHAPTERS ONLY BUT I GUESS WE'LL SEE!!


End file.
